# Has Timmothy Pitzen been found after 7 years? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2019, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048 "2019-04-04T17:51:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/21 "2019-04-04T21:34:44Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I wondered that, too. But I guess she was known to have ‘problems’. Yeah, it isn’t Timmothy…some other lost soul. Timmothy’s mother [really did commit suicide](https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/04/04/timmothy-pitzen-bizarre-backstory-his-disappearance/3364096002/). Her body and the suicide note were found in a hotel room. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2019, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/22 "2019-04-04T21:35:14Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > He appears to be a [23 year old man](https://www.kcra.com/article/fbi-dna-evidence-confirms-boy-found-in-nky-is-not-missing-boy-timmothy-pitzen/27047422). Elaborate or not, it is some kind of hoax. The linked article says he has mental health issues. So less ‘hoax’ than ‘guy really needs help’ (just of a different kind than if he’d truly been Timmothy) How sad for the family ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/23 "2019-04-05T01:02:58Z")
Guys, if we’ve got a dad on the set, the DNA test is going to solve this real quick. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/24 "2019-04-05T02:10:44Z")
The whole story is just sad. No good side at all. Man. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/25 "2019-04-05T02:49:34Z")
Wouldn’t the FBI have DNA from family members of all missing children? Couldn’t they find a match if there is one? They could verify whether this guy is, in fact, a missing child. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/26 "2019-04-05T05:07:59Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > This is why we can’t have nice things. We’re both going to Hell. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/OqDu5LBT8_Y/maxresdefault.jpg "Timothy \*\*\* The Buoys") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqDu5LBT8_Y) ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/27 "2019-04-05T14:19:28Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Wouldn’t the FBI have DNA from family members of all missing children? Couldn’t they find a match if there is one? They could verify whether this guy is, in fact, a missing child. From updates to the linked story, he’s just a human-shaped piece of shit: > [@](#): > > Rini was released from the Belmont Correctional Institution in St. Clairsville, Ohio, last month, serving time for burglary and vandalism. > > He’s also previously been charged with passing bad checks, making false alarms, theft and falsification. No idea why he claimed to be a missing 14 year old boy, but he’s not anyone’s missing child. ETA: Rini’s own brother says [he’s a terrible person](https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2019/04/05/jonathon-rini-brother-claims-to-be-timmothy-pitzen-bpr-bts-newday-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/top-news-videos/) (CNN video). ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/28 "2019-04-05T14:22:45Z")
It was weird how careful many of the news organizations were in their language right from the start, to the point that it made me wonder. Did they already think it was what it turned out to be? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/29 "2019-04-05T14:45:45Z")
I think the news organizations have enough experience to be wary of what appears to be a happy ending. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/30 "2019-04-05T14:57:50Z")
DNA results? Why didn’t they check fingerprints? And fingerprint results would have been returned in a much shorter period of time. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/31 "2019-04-05T15:10:33Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > DNA results? Why didn’t they check fingerprints? And fingerprint results would have been returned in a much shorter period of time. Did they have fingerprints of the missing 6 year old Timmothy? Do the fingerprints of a 6 year old match what they look like as a 15 year old? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/32 "2019-04-05T15:27:15Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Did they have fingerprints of the missing 6 year old Timmothy? Do the fingerprints of a 6 year old match what they look like as a 15 year old? Good question. Let’s assume 6 year old Timmy was fingerprinted after committing bank robbery, would they still match at age 15? I’m guessing they won’t be the same size, which should throw off any of the already unproven unregulated fake science fingerprint matching systems. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/33 "2019-04-05T15:48:00Z")
So doing some more research: It’s theoretically possible, but difficult, to match a child or infant fingerprints with the same person as an adult. The patterns don’t change, but they do expand. And it assumes you’ve got professional fingerprint samples of the child/infant. You can’t just take prints off the last cup they drank from or anything like that. DNA matching for a missing child is much easier. You can get the child’s DNA from their toothbrush or hairbrush if they’re reported missing soon enough, or match them to a close relative (parent or sibling) if not. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/34 "2019-04-05T16:53:51Z")
Probably thought in his tiny little brain that the family would take him in and he could mooch off them for awhile. Either never thought of DNA, or thought the tests would take much longer than they did. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/35 "2019-04-05T17:44:18Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > DNA results? Why didn’t they check fingerprints? And fingerprint results would have been returned in a much shorter period of time. I’m surprised the police didn’t run a quick background check before considering DNA. Brian Michael Rini has a recent prison record. A fingerprint check would have quickly revealed his real identity. Maybe in just minutes? AFAIS is pretty fast. I feel bad Timmothy’s family got their hopes raised and then crushed. Anyhow, Rini has a new charge for his records. > **[Brian Michael Rini, who claimed to be Timmothy Pitzen, charged](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/brian-michael-rini-who-claimed-be-timmothy-pitzen-has-criminal-n991256)** > > "Today's charge is a reminder that lying to the FBI has consequences and we hold those who attempt to distract us from our important work accountable," an FBI agent said. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/36 "2019-04-05T17:52:59Z")
Sorry, the time out got me. AFIS Kentucky has used their system since 1988 PDF [https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/eiafisk.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj\_\_cidwrnhAhUsnq0KHSb-B\_kQFjADegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw0lyeyzCpRFGhflw7PH2MUQ](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/eiafisk.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj__cidwrnhAhUsnq0KHSb-B_kQFjADegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw0lyeyzCpRFGhflw7PH2MUQ) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/37 "2019-04-05T18:20:03Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m surprised the police didn’t run a quick background check before considering DNA. > > Brian Michael Rini has a recent prison record. A fingerprint check would have quickly revealed his real identity. Maybe in just minutes? AFAIS is pretty fast. I’m sure that they _could_ have done that first, but I also imagine that, when a kid is found, claiming to have escaped from his kidnappers, “let’s run a background check and make sure he’s not actually an imposter with a criminal record” is probably pretty far down the list of things that police officers would do. “We’ll call your parents in a few minutes, but first, we’re going to fingerprint you, OK?” Don’t get me wrong – I can’t even imagine how devasted Timmothy’s family must be now, to have their hopes raised, then crushed. But, unless the police who were dealing with the guy when he came in had some reason to suspect that he was lying from the start, I don’t think that there’d be a compelling reason to run his prints immediately, either. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/38 "2019-04-05T18:22:11Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m surprised the police didn’t run a quick background check before considering DNA. > > Brian Michael Rini has a recent prison record. A fingerprint check would have quickly revealed his real identity. Maybe in just minutes? AFAIS is pretty fast. > [Brian Michael Rini, who claimed to be Timmothy Pitzen, charged with making false statement](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna991256) According to your link, “he refused to be fingerprinted, but agreed to submit a DNA sample”. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/39 "2019-04-05T18:22:38Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > DNA results? Why didn’t they check fingerprints? And fingerprint results would have been returned in a much shorter period of time. [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/brian-michael-rini-who-claimed-be-timmothy-pitzen-has-criminal-n991256](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/brian-michael-rini-who-claimed-be-timmothy-pitzen-has-criminal-n991256) > [@](#): > > He complained of abdominal pain, and was brought to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where he refused to be fingerprinted, but agreed to submit a DNA sample, Glassman said. He maintained he was Pitzen until he was confronted by investigators with the DNA results. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048/40 "2019-04-05T19:00:55Z")
I understand everyone wanted to reunite a child with his family. It’s encouraging to know DNA can be verified in under 24 hours, when needed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-timmothy-pitzen-been-found-after-7-years/832048.md?page=3)